Assessing restaurant nutrition quality and dietary factors that influence purchase of food away from home across different food security levels

Both environmental and social factors influence the types and amount of food consumed away from home. To assess and understand the need for food and nutrition assistance programs targeting food consumed away from home, we investigated restaurants' nutritional quality and community related dietary factors (i.e., dietary values and preferences) influencing food away from home consumption across neighborhood food security levels within an urban county in the Midwest. We found that restaurants in more food secure areas offered slightly healthier options and promoted healthy eating more than those in less secure areas. Participants living in both less food secure and more food secure neighborhoods valued taste, safety, and nutrition similarly. While those living in less food secure neighborhoods prioritized price more and perceived healthy food as too costly to eat, compared to those living in more food secure neighborhoods. These findings highlight the need for policy, systems, and environmental changes that address food consumed away from home.